WE’VE ALL WONDERED BEFORE…
THAT’S WHY IT’S FUN TO WATCH ON THE BIG SCREEN.

Prometheus was one of my most anticipated movies of the summer.  Situated right after The Dark Knight Rises and The Avengers and just before The Amazing Spider-Man.  We always wanted to know the story behind the Space Jockey but I don’t think anyone was expecting the filmmakers to ask even BIGGER questions in the process.  Prometheus was AWESOME.

Ridley Scott’s newest film is all about our creation.  Who made us?  I can’t get enough movies about aliens and the possibilities that exist beyond our solar system.  Those movies always left me asking myself the big questions and, to me, that’s a successful movie.

Prometheus begins with a gorgeous sequence presumably on Earth in which we meet an ‘Engineer’.  It’s an amazing sequence that’s equal parts mysterious and fascinating.  From there we are taken on a journey to find these ‘Engineers’ and EVERY SINGLE SCENE adds to that fascination.  The very idea behind the Engineers right down to their design was spectacular.  It was so interesting to learn about them.  I couldn’t get enough.

I honestly had a moment where I thought the characters didn’t stop enough to reflect on what they were experiencing.  It was almost a little too presumptuous to land on a foreign planet and expect them to have dinner ready.  But then again… ‘They were so wrong’.

I was on board, so to speak, with the entire story.  Every new location they explored answered questions and posed new ones.  Each one more interesting than the next.  Going in, I was expecting a lot of the big questions to remain unanswered with Damon Lindelof’s name attached.  But it was a perfect pace of action vs philosophy.  Plus, you have to leave certain answers out there for the audience to discuss when you are dealing with such ambitious themes and ideas.

I think some people might be a little frustrated by the lack of answers to the ‘big’ questions but I appreciated the open ended finale.  There are still so many things we don’t understand about ourselves.  Having said that, we definitely understand a whole lot more about the Space Jockey and the origins of the horrific Xenomorphs.  (Which is awesome by the way)

However, I did have a couple minor complaints.  There were a few moments that were really vague.  For example, Charlize Theron’s character was hard to figure out.  What did she expect to accomplish on the mission?  She seemed to be pretty capable with a flame thrower.  Overall, she came across as remorseless and cold but why?  Certain aspects of her character are answered but the ‘twist’ in the end flipped my theories upside down.  Perhaps another viewing is in order but it’s never good to feel like you missed something.

There were also a few scenes that didn’t seem to fit in the overall story.  It felt like Idris Elba didn’t have much to do so they tossed in some flirtation with Charlize’s character.

“Are you a robot?”

At one point, a character returns as a zombie of sorts and causes chaos for the crew without much explanation.  He just arrives, causes a few explosions and then it’s never mentioned again.

But these are minor complaints to say the least.  The big attraction here are the horrific moments caused by the crew’s understandable curiosity.  There are also plenty of disgusting (and awesome) moments that reminded me how much I love this genre and why Ridley is a legend.

It’s a gorgeous movie full of stunning images.  There’s a phenomenal wide shot early on where a ship appears as a mere spec of light traveling across the vastness of space.  The scope and sheer size of this movie is impressive to say the least and so much fun to watch.

Who knows if we will ever be able to answer the big questions…  Upon further reflection, I’ve decided I like the movie better for leaving certain answers out.  It’s about ASKING the questions in the first place.

One of my favorite scenes involved characters discussing whether or not there is a God at all now that they’ve found their makers.

“They made us.”

“Who made them?”

Another fantastic moment involved a robot questioning why he was created and what motivates us to create.  It’s absolutely fascinating stuff and when you factor in the sense of adventure and danger, you have a perfect summer movie that I can’t wait to see again.

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In a historic off season, the NBA has been changed forever.  7 years ago, when they first entered the league, no one could have predicted that we would all witness a team that boasted Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and Lebron James.

Are you kidding me?

These three superstars put ego and money aside to join forces and win a championship.  The Miami Heat have since become the most talked about franchise in professional sports.

Even a few years ago people would never have guessed that we would see Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen together.  We all saw the success they had.

It got me thinking…

What if a few superstar filmmakers got together and created a movie?

We have definitely seen some amazing filmmaking teams over the years but I’m thinking bigger.

We’ve seen Spielberg and Lucas team ups in the past but what if Scorsese or Coppola joined in to create something new? Can you imagine how many people would follow that movie?  The hype would be enormous. What magical project would unite these titans?

Is their enough shots to go around? (I suppose that works for both basketball and film doesn’t it? Nice.)

I think it’s all about the greater good and knowing each others strengths.  You HAVE to be a team player to pull it off.

The Three Kings of Miami have the entire sports world talking about whether or not they can pull it off.  Some people doubt they will be able to win a title right away but nobody is doubting the enormous amount of talent they bring to the table.

James, Wade and Bosh may not have the supporting cast yet but they are united in a common goal.  To win NBA championships.  I think it’s fantastic to see 3 superstars willing to share the spotlight to achieve their collective goals.

Why not film? Is it possible?

Imagine that it was for a moment…

What team ups would you like to see?

• What if Christopher Nolan, Zak Snyder and J.J Abrams decided to lock themselves in a room and work on a secret project together.
• What if Peter Jackson, Quentin Tarantino and Ridley Scott were planning an epic war drama? Written by Tarantino and Jackson with Ridley Scott directing.  Bring in Weta Digital to do the visual effects.
• How about M. Night Shyamalan (Sixth Sense Night, not The Happening Night.) hooked up with George Romero and created a project that enticed David Fincher to come on board?
• What if James Cameron created a brand new sci fi love story and worked closely with Cameron Crowe and Michael Mann?

The possibilities are endless!

I can’t decide whether it’s wishful thinking or sheer curiosity but I think the trend has already begun.

We’ve seen some pretty incredible casts come together already.  Insane amounts of talent in one place. Take The Expendables for example.  Did you ever think you would see those action legends in one movie?

We’ve even seen some directors teaming up with one producing but I’m thinking much, much bigger.

What I’m talking about here is a GIANT team up with a specific goal in mind.  To create the absolute best movie possible.  To win the championship.

It’s an interesting thought.

Obviously, like the NBA, you can’t win a title without a supporting cast and the film world is no different.

You can’t just bring 3 incredible directors on board and then skimp out on key technical and artistic positions. There are a ton of loose ends that need to be tied up before a team can achieve success.  You need the right group of people in the right creative atmosphere for it to work.

I can’t help but wonder what could be possible if the stars aligned someday.

Is there a dream team out there willing to put aside money and ego to achieve creative immortality?

Would it even lead to creative immortality?

It’s a reality in the sports world.  Look at the Celtics and Heat.  I really don’t think we’ve seen the last of this incredible new trend.  What crazy team up will happen next?  Maybe the Heat will succeed and another super team forms to defeat them.  Time will tell.

As for the filmmaking super awesome team?

We can hope can’t we?

Would the film be able to live up to the hype? What kind of film would it be?

Anything is possible.

Everyone has a list of filmmakers they love.  I certainly do.

It’s a giant list!

Certain directors out there really manage to inspire me with virtually every project they take on.

This edition of 10 Flicks is dedicated to 10 of my favorite kick ass directors and their best films. (In my opinion of course.)

Zak Snyder

300

Martin Scorsese

Goodfellas

Neill Blomkamp

District 9

Ridley Scott

Gladiator

David Fincher

Seven

Steven Spielberg

Saving Private Ryan

Quentin Tarantino

Pulp Fiction

J.J Abrams

Mission: Impossible 3

M. Night Shyamalan

Signs

Christopher Nolan

The Dark Knight

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